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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. pound — a weight
  5. tear — to rip
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tear — from crying
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bore — to drill
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bore — to tire
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. pound — to hit hard

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com